I'll be the first to admit that I'm not an avid comic book reader, I've hardly ever picked up an actual comic book in my life, but that's not to say that I am completely ignorant. I've always been a big fan of comic media, especially movies and television shows, and Batman has always been one of my favourite characters in the world of comic books so I try to make sure that I'm up to date on everything that happens in his series. I may be a little late in joining the discussion, but I figured it was time to throw in my two cents and write my ideas down so I don't need to worry about holding onto them.
I don't like Damian Wayne, I hesitate to use the word "hate", but it's probably the only word that's strong enough to describe my feelings around him. After researching him, learning about his run in the comics and watching the movies "Son of Batman" and "Batman vs. Robin", I've discovered a definite distaste for him, particularly in the later of the two films which is quite good, but in which Damian's presence severely detracts from one of the best modern Batman story archs. Here is where I'll lay out the reasons why I feel the way I do about him and the problems I've come across with his character.
Lack of Originality
I don't want to use the word "fan-ficy" because there are a lot of great fanfictions out there that are just as good as any "real" story, but, again, that's the closest word I can find to describe how I feel Damian has been written. Really, Damian feels like something that could be held up as an example of fanfiction, fangasmic wish-fulfilment, a character who combines all the best and most notably qualities of all the other Robins on top of being Bruce Wayne's biological son (as if that's actually supposed to matter).
My first problem with Damian is that he brings nothing new to the role of Robin, he's simply a condescended retelling of all the previous Robins. He has Dick Grayson's skill, Jason Todd's anger, and Tim Drake's intelligence, and really not much else that I can see to define him as a character or give his incarnation of Robin any new life because each Robin previous to him as brought something new to the role and provided a different perspective on the role of Batman's sidekick. Dick Grayson is the original Robin, the one who carved out the role and paved the way for all of the others, the one who became Batman's sidekick at a time when Batman had never planned on having on and never even really wanted one. Perhaps it's all in my mind and my own idea of who these characters are, but I think that Dick Grayson is the one who understands Bruce the best because he's known Bruce the longest and the one who had completely given himself over to Bruce's dream of ridding Gotham of crime and making it into the place that Bruce's parents had previously envisioned. He's also the one who grew up in the role and eventually outgrew it, becoming a hero in his own right with his own successes and accomplishments. Dick Grayson is the golden boy, the one who did it all first and the one who all Robins who come after will be compared to. What Dick brought to the role was his acrobatic skills from his time training in the circus with his parents, flipping, cartwheeling, and somersaulting around his opponents so they can never even touch him, but he's also the one who's trained the longest and who, I think, is the most skilled fighter of the three main Robin.
Jason Todd is, of course, the angry Robin, he's the one who came from a completely different world from both Dick and Bruce and who came with his own emotional baggage before even once putting on the tights. He's the rebel, the one who was fueled by the anger he didn't know how to express and the one who eventually went off the rails. Jason is the one who shows what crime, poverty, addiction, etc., can do to people and shows that mental illness and trauma is something which not everyone beats. Jason is also someone who made one stupid decision, to go after Joker on his own, and it cost him while making Bruce question the very idea of having a Robin in the first place. But, I also believe that Jason is the one who looked up to Bruce the most, because he had had none else to look up to in his life, and desperately wanted Bruce's approval, even to the point of going after the Joker to do it. And now, after his return, he is now the one who, instead of fighting against what Bruce is doing, is still trying to fulfill Bruce's dream, but just going about it the wrong way. He wants to rid Gotham city of crime because he's one of its victims and because he knows that there will be others like him who will be hurt when nothing is being done to save them. I could continue on Jason Todd, but I'll save my analysis on him for another, possible post.
Finally, of course, there's Tim Drake, who is the intelligent Robin. Tim is the one who helped bring Bruce out of his depression following Jason's death and showed him that there are people like him, Dick, and Jason who need Bruce and that the risk is worth it. Tim Drake is the Robin who is most different from the other two, where Jason may have been trying to be Dick Grayson and live up to his predecessor, Tim is the one who breaks the mold, using his mind instead of his brawn. While Bruce, Dick, and Jason are getting ready to go out and bust down doors, Tim hacks into the security cameras and databases to get the information they need. He may be the one who has had the least experience and the weakest in terms of physical combat, but he brings his brainpower and uses it to find new solutions to old problems.
Someone will probably counter my argument that Damian doesn't have much in the way of uniqueness by bring up his backstory, about how he was the son of Talia al Ghul and how he was trained to be a killer, but I would counter that with the backstory of Cassandra Cain. Yes, not a Robin, but I think a very fascinating character in her own right and one who needs to have more down with her. She is the daughter of Lady Shiva, Ra's al Ghul's second-in-command, and she was raised from birth to be his bodyguard, being so isolated and so neglected that she never learns to speak or how to read or write. But, when the time comes for her to become the assassin she is supposed to be, she refuses to become what they want her to be and instead becomes a hero. Her story shares a lot of similarities with Damian and I think that it is because they have such similar stories, that Cassandra is left in the background.
My first issue with Damian is that he does nothing new, he is just a mash-up of all the previous Robins without bringing a fresh take on the role or any new quality which really defines him and makes him different from its predecessors, other than the fact that he is Bruce Wayne's biological son, but that has also led to problems with his character.
His Effect on Bruce Wayne
Because Damian lacks a uniqueness in terms of character, he's defining characteristic is that he's Bruce's biological son and that has become something so important in his story where I really believe it shouldn't be. Why does blood make all the difference? Why is it so important that Damian got 50% of his genes from Bruce? In the grand scheme of things, it's really not all that important that Damian is Bruce Wayne's offspring. What sort of effect is it supposed to have on Damian? The two of them look kind of similar? Really, it doesn't make that much of a difference. Ask any adopted child who has had good, loving parents and they will say that their adopted parents are their real parents, not their birth parents. Bruce already has children who he has adopted and raised, so why does Damian get to be called the son of Batman while Dick, Jason, and Tim do not? My biggest issue with Damian is that he has changed the way Bruce has been written and not for the better, Bruce has been making allowances for Damian whereas he would never had made such allowances in the past such as around Damian's persistent disobedience and his violent, aggressive behaviour. I've read comments of people saying how Damian is a child and so his behaviour shouldn't be taken too seriously because he doesn't know any better, to that I completely and utterly disagree. It is because Damian is a child that he needs to learn better, because, if he doesn't, then he may never learn otherwise. Damian has been foreshadowed to become a violent, murderous version of Batman so it should seem obvious where his behaviour will lead.
The most evident example of how different Damian causes Bruce to act is in the aftermath of his death (again mirrored Jason Todd) where Bruce is looking desperately to find a way to resurrect Damian, knowing full well from previous experience (*cough* Jason *cough*) that that isn't always a good idea. Now, it's perfectly understandable for Bruce to be upset, having lost another Robin when he had swore he never would again and it is even conceivable that Bruce would want to revive Damian, but during this arch, Bruce acts rashly and insensitively, even telling Jason that he never should have been made Robin. That is something I cannot stand. The Bruce Wayne I know would never say anything like that because the Bruce Wayne I know never would have sabotaged Jason's recovery like that. By saying that, Bruce shows how he sees Damian as more important that his other children. To Bruce Wayne, it shouldn't matter whether Damian is related by blood or not, the Bruce Wayne I know would never treat Damian any differently than any other of the Robins and that could possibly provide a really dynamic between Damian and Bruce as Damian believes he's more important than the others and Bruce insists that he isn't. In the end, the thing I hate most about Damian Wayne is the effect he has had on the way that Bruce Wayne has been written, pulling him further and further away from how I think he needs to be.
So What to Do?
Honestly, I would like it for Damian Wayne to disappear all together and, instead, have the time he would have taken be given to Jason Todd and/or Cassandra Cain to help develop them as characters and to give them more growth which might have been wasted on Damian. However, there are two points that I do like about Damian, the fact that he is biracial (though you often wouldn't know it by the way he's illustrated), and the fact that he loves animals, but the first position could be filled by Cassandra, being biracial as well, and the second could easily be slipped into a character like Jason. In the end, if Damian is going to remain as Robin, I think he and the stories he is in are going to need serious rewriting, though I do think that the stories around him, like the Court of Owls arch, are excellent and definitely deserve keeping.
Batman is one of my favourite characters of all time and all I want to see is him returned to his potential as one of the greatest characters not just in DC, but in modern times. I feel that Damian is something which has really only brought Batman down from where he was and would would love nothing more than to see him restored.
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